Habitat & Conservation,Hunting & Heritage  |  01/17/2018

Quail Classic Habitat Stage Really Hits Home


12d2ea49-4d61-45c5-9c94-912f1eced7cb
Quail Classic Habitat Stage sessions will make you both a better hunter and conservationist.

By Tom Carpenter

Every serious uplander knows that habitat is key to everything. That’s why we join organizations like Quail Forever. 

While we know not to take habitat for granted, it’s easy to ignore the intricacies and inside-angles that biologists and game managers use to improve the landscape for upland wildlife. But that information can give you a better understanding of game birds and their needs … and that makes you both a better hunter and conservationist.

That’s why the Habitat Stage at 2018 National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic is going to be a place to be. This year, the stage is being sponsored by key Pheasants Forever / Quail Forever conservation partners Polaris and Scag Power Equipment.
 

HAND-PICKED HIGHLIGHTS

“It’s a great lineup,” says Rachel Bush, Pheasants Forever North Dakota State Coordinator and chief planner and architect of this year’s Habitat Stage. “It’s hard to pull out highlights, everything’s going to be so good, but there are several presentations I’m particularly excited about.”

“One is Habitat, Hunt, Harvest. It’s just a half-hour, but it’s an amazing story. When we talk about hunting, that’s only one chapter of the whole tale. If we have no habitat, there’s no hunt. And when upland wildlife is the subject, agriculture is key. Erika Yost of PF/QF, and Dr. Bill Moritz of the Wildlife Management Institute, are going to explore ag trends, and insights for the future, so that we can sustain harvests of both crops and game birds.”

“Precision agriculture is a key topic these days,” says Bush. “Roosters & Revenue: Using Technology to Increase Farm Profits and Wildlife Habitat taps into this important trend and explores how precision ag helps everybody – farmers, conservationists and hunters – win.”

On a related note, farmers, landowners and agricultural producers will also want to consider attending the Precision Ag Workshop being held Friday February 16 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

On the quail front, Bush recommends Missouri’s Quail Focus Area Successes. “The lessons here on managing focus areas can be applied across quail -- and pheasant – range. Bill White of the Missouri Department of Conservation has an engaging presentation.”

“As a North Dakotan, I’m particularly excited about Ring-Necked Ecology in a Changing North Dakota Landscape,” adds Bush. “Dr. Ben Geaumont of North Dakota State University Extension is also president of the Cedar Creek Pheasants Forever chapter. It will be cool to have a chapter president up on stage, and his insights apply to pheasant habitat beyond North Dakota.”
 

COMPLETE SEMINAR SCHEDULE

FRIDAY

2:00 p.m.
Ring-Necked Pheasant Ecology in a Changing North Dakota Landscape
Dr. Ben Geaumont, North Dakota State University Extension

3:00 p.m.
The Habitat, The Hunt, The Harvest
Trends in US Agriculture, Insights for Next Steps

Erica Yost, Pheasants Forever

4:00 p.m.
Roosters & Revenue
Using Technology to Increase Farm Profits and Wildlife Habita
t
Dr. Mark McConnell, University of Georgia

5:00 p.m.
USFWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program
Restoring Wildlife Habitat on Private Lands

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biologist

6:00 p.m.
Missouri’s Quail Focus Area Successes
Bill White, Missouri Department of Conservation

7:00 p.m.
Birds and Herds
Jim Faulstich and Eric Magedanz, South Dakota Grasslands Coalition and Pheasants Forever
 

SATURDAY

10:00 a.m.
Missouri’s Quail Focus Area Successes
Bill White, Missouri Department of Conservation

11:00 a.m.
Birds and Herds
Jim Faulstich and Eric Magedanz, South Dakota Grasslands Coalition and Pheasants Forever 

Noon
USFWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program
Restoring Wildlife Habitat on Private Lands

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biologist

1:00 p.m.
Roosters & Revenue
Using Technology to Increase Farm Profits and Wildlife Habita
t
Dr. Mark McConnell, University of Georgia

2:00 p.m.
Turning Red Acres Green
Melissa Shockman, Jeremy Biggs, Jennifer Hann, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever

3:00 p.m.
Ring-Necked Pheasant Ecology in a Changing North Dakota Landscape
Dr. Ben Geaumont, North Dakota State University Extension

4:00 p.m.
The Habitat, The Hunt, The Harvest
Trends in US Agriculture, Insights for Next Steps

Erica Yost, Pheasants Forever
 

SUNDAY

10:00 a.m.
The Habitat, The Hunt, The Harvest
Trends in US Agriculture, Insights for Next Steps

Erica Yost, Pheasants Forever

11:00 a.m.
Ring-Necked Pheasant Ecology in a Changing North Dakota Landscape
Dr. Ben Geaumont, North Dakota State University Extension

Noon
Roosters & Revenue
Using Technology to Increase Farm Profits and Wildlife Habitat

Dr. Mark McConnell, University of Georgia

1:00 p.m.
USFWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program
Restoring Wildlife Habitat on Private Lands

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biologist

2:00 p.m.
Missouri’s Quail Focus Area Successes
Bill White, Missouri Department of Conservation

3:00 p.m.
Birds and Herds
Jim Faulstich and Eric Magedanz, South Dakota Grasslands Coalition and Pheasants Forever